LoveFilm vs Netflix; Which Movie Rental Service is Best?

Are you struggling to decide — LoveFilm vs Netflix; which movie rental is best for you? To be fair, though Lovefilm and Netflix are fighting for the title of best online movie streaming service, to choose which is the biggest hitter is not an easy decision to make. These online streaming services from LOVEFiLM and Netflix offer movies that can be watched through an internet connection. Many people often wonder how LOVEFiLM vs Netflix fare against one another in regards to the movie titles they offer. In this article we compare these best movie streaming services feature-by-feature.

Movie Titles and Content

LOVEFiLM not only offers an online streaming service but they also have a DVD and Blu-Ray library that can be rented online and sent to customers through the post. This particular library is much bigger than LOVEFiLM’s streaming titles. While the mail service may have more titles this doesn’t mean the number of streaming titles is anything at which to scoff. In fact, LOVEFiLM offers over 9,000 titles with almost half being movies. The amount of titles is increasing daily so customers have even more choice. LOVEFiLM does also have some of the latest films that can be viewed for a fee for each film. These can be accessed through the Box Office feature at the LOVEFiLM site. Even though some new titles are offered in this area of the site, there are also many big name movies included in the streaming library.

Both services offer free trials which make it easy to try out the services without any obligation. The Netflix free trial offer will more than likely reveal the smaller variety of movie titles open to customers. In regards to movie content LOVEFiLM is clearly the winner.

Accessibility

All of the titles found in the Netflix library can be accessed with the monthly fee. Customers do not have to pay per view for some selected titles. While this may seem appealing, what you would be sacrificing is the quality of the collection offered by LOVEFiLM. Netflix doesn’t offer a library with the same quality. They also offer fewer titles to their customers in the United Kingdom in comparison to those in the United States.

Both services also have exclusive deals sewn up with movie studios, so you might find you simply can’t get a particular film on one service because the other has it. For films though, LoveFilm is more likely to float your boat. But then again neither streaming-only service can really match up to what’s available on DVD or Blu-ray from LoveFilm still, and I can’t see that changing within the near future.

Streaming HD Quality

As far as the quality of their streaming HD quality goes, Netflix offer 720p and 1080p HD streaming with surround sound on a high number of their films (and a handful of their TV shows depending on the age) in their original aspect ratio, while LOVEFiLM shockingly crop a majority of their films and struggle to keep up with even DVD quality. If you’re a quality nut like myself there’s no real competition between the two.

Both companies aren’t perfect; but both of them are very promising and each has potential to become the best movie rental service one day. This is a real one that comes down to personal preference. If you’re a TV man with a mixture of film, Netflix is for you. If you’re primarily interested in watching more recent films then you may be more comfortable with LOVEFiLM.

Streaming Devices

Netflix appears to have the edge over LoveFilm in the delivery department at the moment. You can stream on a whole variety of devices including iOS and Android devices. The three major consoles are all supported, along with the Apple TV, some Smart TV and Blu-ray players, the Roku box, and of course, a PC or Mac.

LoveFilm on the other hand will stream to some Smart TVs, home theater systems and Blu-ray players; the PS3 and Xbox 360; the iPad, and a PC or Mac using Silverlight. There are a few limitations on what you can watch on what device though. For instance, you can’t watch pay-per-view movies on the PS3 or other devices like you can on a PC or Mac.

Winner

With the arrival of Netflix, LOVEFiLM moved things up a gear and has begun fighting back. Which is better? We think Netflix has the better TV selection and device support while LoveFilm has the better film catalog, but that’s purely based on our personal favorites. As both services offer no-strings free trials, we’d recommend trying both. At the end of the day these companies will battle to drive down prices and fight for new content, leaving the customer the true winner.

About The Author

Asha

Asha is a Technology Queen, IT professional, part-time Blogger and Social Media bee. She is a passionate Techno-enthusiast and Internet junkie who loves to write on Online Security, Social Networking (especially Facebook), Gadgets, Smartphones, Technology and SEO. She is a co-creator of TechChunks.com and writes here frequently. Circle Asha on Google+!

To be honest, I don’t like either. There are so many films they don’t have that I wish they did, the picture quality isn’t anywhere near HD quality, and they often don’t broadcast movies in the proper aspect ratio. DVDs and Blu-rays are much better options.Brady Partridge´s recent blog post ►► Vizio E601i-A3